(EDM) The culmination of United States President Donald Trump’s European tour occurs today (July 16), in Helsinki, at the anxiously anticipated but far-from-perfectly prepared meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump comes to the rendezvous carrying the baggage of old problems and new controversies (see EDM, July 9, 12) generated during his participation in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Brussels, his official visit to the United Kingdom, and with the long-declared intention to develop a useful rapport with Putin. In Moscow, experts were reluctant to ponder what sort of offers Putin might make to the capricious interlocutor. But they were eager to speculate about tensions and disagreements within the North Atlantic Alliance (Nezavisimaya Gazeta, July 11). Trump’s unrelenting and undiplomatic pressure on the European (and Canadian) Allies, as well as his casual insult of UK Prime Minister Theresa May were described in the Russian press with keen attention to detail (Rossiiskaya Gazeta, July 12). Omitted in most of the commentary, however, was the direction of Trump’s escapades, which typically targeted Russia’s interests and intrigues. […]
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